Health, Work and Well-being in Local Authorities. September 2010

Transcription

1 Health, Work and Well-being in Local Authorities September

2 Health, Work and Well-being in Local Authorities Introduction...3 Developing a road map: implementing a well-being programme...3 Case studies methodology...6 Case studies lessons...6 Establishing a driver for the introduction of well-being initiatives...6 Targeting staff with initiatives...7 Communicating well-being work...7 Linking to national initiatives and national issues...7 Obtaining financial resources...7 Obtaining human resources...7 Extending well-being work into the community...7 Assessing the effectiveness of initiatives...8 National awards and assessments...8 Case studies...9 Burnley Borough Council...9 Conwy County Borough Council...12 Cumbria County Council...15 London Borough of Enfield...18 Kent County Council...21 Nottingham City Council...28 West Dunbartonshire Council...37 Annex 1: Case studies methodology...40 Types of initiative...40 Annex 2: Useful resources...42 Annex 3: Index of case studies by key word

3 Introduction In April 2009 the Local Government Association Analysis and Research team were commissioned to conduct case studies of ten local authorities that were undertaking health and well-being initiatives for their employees, so that other authorities might learn from them. This report presents ten notable practice cases studies which demonstrate a range of initiatives to promote employee safety, health and well-being in the local government sector. The case studies and the report as a whole are intended to assist local government to implement a well-being strategy within their authority. This will contribute to the national health work and well-being strategy. Local authorities have a key role to play in the health and well-being of their staff. They are often the largest employer in an area and, as such, any health and well-being work they do touches the lives of many of their own residents. In addition, many staff in their workforce will have families also living in the area, who may indirectly benefit from such work; therefore effective health and wellbeing initiatives have the ability to influence the health of the wider community. A full literature review, which examines the published research and possible benefits of health and well-being work within local government, is available separately 1. This research identifies work that some authorities have done in the field of health and well-being for their staff, in a way that is more than simply a description of the initiatives; it provides insight into the elements that helped make their well-being a programmes a success that other authorities may learn from. Developing a road map: implementing a well-being programme It is well recognised that a healthy workforce is a productive workforce. This has wider benefits for the community and the local and national economy 2. Within an organisation, a business case often needs to be made for introducing wellbeing initiatives. A meta-analysis of 55 studies which was conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers (2008) concluded that the benefits for an organisation of well-being initiatives (in the form of reduced spend on areas such as overtime costs, recruitment costs and legal costs) were up to 34 times higher than the costs of implementing the initiatives 3. As good health is good business then it is 1 Local Government Association/Local Government Employers (2010), Literature Review of Health,Work and Well-being in Local Authorities 2 Black, C. (2008), Working for a Healthier Tomorrow, London: The Stationery Office 3 Price Waterhouse Coopers (2008), Building the Case for Wellness, online. Available at: [accessed 21 September 2009] 3

4 vital for employers to embrace this during the current economically uncertain environment. Organisations may differ in culture and structure therefore the process of developing and implementing a well-being programme may vary between organisations. The following is offered as a process which has worked for some organisations but may require adaption and tailoring to match to protocols and procedures which already exist. Deciding if action is needed All organisations should be collecting workforce data as a matter of routine. This can include sickness absence, exit interview findings, one to one discussions and personal development plans. This information may indicate to managers that there are specific health/well-being needs of the staff or that there are benefits to be gained in terms of attendance and productivity if energy and resources are invested in staff well-being initiatives. Convincing strategic managers of the need for action It is unlikely that any well-being programme would be introduced without the backing of senior management. This means that the chief executive and leader of the council together with the senior/executive management team and cabinet must be convinced that any proposal will add value in terms of improved attendance, productivity and health outcomes for those who take part. It must be remembered that some pay-backs may take sometime to be realised. The development of a robust business case can be a powerful tool in convincing sceptical senior managers into backing a well-being programme. The business health check tool developed by Price Waterhouse Coopers, in association with business in the community can provide the necessary framework within which to develop a business case. How to drive well-being forward Once top level commitment from both officers and members has been secured the strategy must be developed and driven forward. The constitution of a small multidisciplinary steering group is one way of making this happen. This group may draw expertise from HR, health and safety, occupational health, trade unions with visible leadership provided by a strategic manager and an elected member. The group should develop the strategy, which will indentify the issues including why a programme is needed and propose the programme of action, specify the desired outcomes and key mile stones. It should also consider at the outset how the programme will be evaluated and what measures of success will be used. The strategy should receive political backing; this is crucial where additional resources are required to deliver the programme. 4

5 Implementation The strategy will be implemented through a series of interventions and programmes designed to address the issues identified. These may relate to for example encouraging increased physical activity, or support to make appropriate lifestyle choices around diet, and alcohol. Mechanisms should be developed for effective delivery of these programmes including making them accessible to all staff who are interested and motivated to attend. Efforts must be made to overcome barriers to participations such as staff working at remote locations and those who are employed on novel work patterns. In developing interventions it is important to ask the staff what they would like and what they think is important and appropriate. Initiatives should not be imposed, as they are likely to fail through lack of participation. Messages must be appropriate to the audience and communicated in an appropriate way. Consider such basics as intranet accessibility and remote/home workers. Some schemes have adopted a brand for the strategy which enables staff to quickly recognise that the particular initiative is part of the wider wellbeing programme. Monitoring and review The strategy will have identified mile stones, monitoring will identify if these are being met and that they are appropriate. The success of the various initiatives will be assessed against agreed criteria. It may be that the strategy needs to be modified in the light of any review. Any significant changes should be agreed by the steering group and may require further political backing. Establishing staff focus groups or sounding boards provide opportunities for staff attitudes towards the strategy and interventions to be gauged. It further enables the steering group to validate whether what is provided is what is wanted by the staff. Evaluation Evaluation of the effect of well-being programmes is an area which is sometimes weak. However, it is crucial to understand what works and why to ensure that the best return in terms of improved health outcomes and organisational benefits are captured. Effective evaluation will be crucial in convincing strategic managers that the programme added value and should be continued into the future. The mechanism and measures of success should be stated within the strategy. The metrics may be a mixture of hard and soft data. For example, the number of days lost through sickness absence may be a hard measure. But this will not tell the whole story and other information gathered through staff attitude surveys may provide a better impression of the less tangible benefit of the strategy. For example, there may be an improvement in employee engagement, which is crucial for both improved productivity and innovation. Staff may report that they 5

6 are happier in their work or feel that the organisation cares about them and is prepared to invest in their health. Many health outcomes are likely to be take some time to manifest themselves in terms of positive health benefits such as longer active life. These are more difficult to build into an evaluation process as these benefits may manifest themselves in longer active retirement something which will be realised after they have left the organisation! Case studies methodology Ten case studies were selected in two ways. First, authorities which reported a large number of well-being initiatives for their staff in the LGA/LGE Sickness Absence Survey 4 were selected. This identified a group of authorities that were actively involved in such work. Secondly, the other authorities who participated in the research were self-selecting, having responded to a call to local government for case studies of health and well-being activities. Telephone interviews were conducted with three respondents in each authority. All interviews were conducted in December 2009 and January A thematic analysis was conducted on the data and individual case studies were produced. See Annex 1 for a more detailed methodology. Case studies lessons A number of lessons can be learnt from the case studies. Some of these (like drawing on staff expertise from across the authority, and gaining the support of senior management) applied to many of the case studies, while others can be learnt from just one or two. Some of the issues and lessons that have come out of the case studies are: Establishing a driver for the introduction of well-being initiatives A key driver for health and well-being work is being able to demonstrate a need for it, often through the use of sickness absence statistics. Another driver is helping to meet a local target or corporate objective around health and/or well-being. Sickness absence statistics can help to identify target groups of staff, or causes of sickness absence, and so focus resources. 4 Local Government Association/Local Government Employers (2010), Sickness Absence and Causes Survey

7 Targeting staff with initiatives Access to staff who are not located in central premises or areas needs to be addressed in some way. Staff who are not interested in health-related sessions may yet be interested in well-being sessions, if they can be delivered in an accessible way. Communicating well-being work Effective communication about initiatives is essential to their success: using more than one method is more likely to achieve success. Communications should be two-way, and allow staff to feed back about initiatives so they can be modified if improvements are identified. Linking to national initiatives and national issues Linking schemes to national initiatives or issues can raise the profile of them, and allows staff to see the council focus on the same health issues that are being mentioned on breakfast television; it also allows councils to save resources by linking into existing activities. Obtaining financial resources A number of activities are possible within existing budgets, with some creative thinking. There are some sources of external funding that should be explored, including partnerships with other local services. Obtaining human resources Many of the case study authorities used existing staff, in their current roles, to implement the health and well-being initiatives. There are staff with specialist skills within the authority who might help to deliver initiatives, such as communications officer, arts officers, consultation officers. Joint funding with partners may allow the appointment of a full-time post; or modification of a job description could enable a member of staff to allocate more time to a health and well-being role. Extending well-being work into the community Extending initiatives to family and friends can not only benefit a wider group of people, but make staff more likely to take part in initiatives. 7

8 Assessing the effectiveness of initiatives It is important to assess the effectiveness of the initiatives, so that resources can be focused on those interventions which provide the biggest return on investment in terms of the stated objectives. Measures to evaluate the initiatives should be decided at the outset, and ideally some baseline data collected. A mix of measures is best: process, quantitative and qualitative/perceptionsbased ones. National awards and assessments National awards and assessments can be useful as a way of shaping the thoughts of authorities in their health and well-being programmes, as well as being an indicator of the success of the programmes, and a target to aspire to. 8

9 Case studies Burnley Borough Council Healthy Workplace Strategy Key words: improving community health driver, stress management, working environment, physical activity, healthchecks, healthy lifestyle, staff support group, family and friends, external funding Background Burnley is a district council in the North West. A high proportion of the population has poor health, and the council s workforce is drawn from the local area. Within the workplace, stress is the biggest cause of sickness absence. There is an overall community strategy target to improve citizens health and, as the majority of staff live and work in the district, it makes sense to improve staff health. Description of initiatives A range of initiatives are gradually being introduced, with taster sessions being conducted in the first instance. The initiatives are numerous and wide-ranging including: vouchers for swimming or exercise classes in the council s leisure centre, which could be used both within the working day and outside of this time a BeWell Handbook that has been produced to compliment stress awareness weeks, and a range of taster sessions to introduce staff to yoga, neurolinguistic programming and meditation stress awareness days smoking cessation classes charity runs blood pressure checks, fitness checks and alcohol awareness sessions community fit club lunchtime walks and publishing the bus times on the council s intranet. In addition to these initiatives, there have been a series of Learning Lunches which have promoted other elements of well-being, such as gardening, love food, hate waste and money management. These sessions were particularly aimed at encouraging participation from those staff who had not been interested in the fitness aspects of the programme. Resources There was not any additional dedicated funding to develop the strategy or deliver the initiatives; rather, it was necessary to use funding streams and organisational elements already in place. Internal budgets that were used for 9

10 small contributions included communications, occupational health, healthy lifestyle, and human resources. Small amounts of money were also secured from the trade union, UNISON, and the primary care trust. Burnley Borough Council made use of existing resources for employers in the borough, in the form of the WorkFit co-ordinator. The WorkFit co-ordinator was already employed in the borough to work with local businesses to promote healthy workforces, and they helped organise a number of the physical activity initiatives and provide access to sessions like the back clinic. In addition, the council drew on the skills of their own staff in specialist jobs, such as the health and safety adviser, equalities adviser, healthy lifestyles manager, and communications officers. A dance practitioner, who worked in the local theatre where a range of community events takes place, was particularly helpful in identifying existing classes that staff could benefit from: for example, the community fit club, which is like a slimming club, was already running, and the council simply advertised it. Challenges Many staff who would like to participate reported that they were busy with work and personal commitments. In order to overcome this, the delivery of the initiatives was amended; for example, swimming vouchers were changed so that they could be used outside of work time. This had the benefit of enabling staff to use the vouchers with other family members, and so extended the benefit of them. Employee indifference was also challenging for the project; some staff did not feel the health and exercise element of the programme was what they needed. The Learning Lunches have enabled those who might not be interested in this element to benefit from the programme as well. Factors for success Staff support, both managerial and from the union, was key to the success of the programme. Getting staff with time to organise and run the initiatives was one of the biggest challenges, and so the support of senior personnel and the union enabled this. The commitment and expertise of the staff who were involved in the organisation of initiatives was also crucial. Communications were important: initiatives were promoted through the council magazine, the council intranet and employee networks, so staff were able to see the wide range of initiatives and that they were successful. The contribution of communications officers and use of their budget was important. Outcomes The 2008 staff survey showed that staff feel high levels of satisfaction with their work environment. A recent Investors in People assessment gave praise for the 10

11 work, and Burnley Borough Council were shortlisted for the Safety and Health Practioner magazine awards, and commended at the DWF Employer Awards. Future plans There is a strong commitment to continue this work, with plans to update the existing initiatives and overall strategy. Areas of focus this year include stress management, general health promotion, and the working environment. Contact Heather Brennan People and Development Manager Burnley Borough Council x hbrennan@burnley.gov.uk 11

12 Conwy County Borough Council Valuing Staff Strategy Key words: improving workforce well-being driver, tackling musculo skeletal problems, job evaluation, physical activity, healthchecks Background There were a number of drivers which led to the introduction of well-being initiatives in Conwy, a unitary authority in Wales. Ongoing monitoring of sickness absences showed that musculo skeletal injuries and stress were the main categories of sickness absence reported, and this was an important driver in the introduction of initiatives. In addition, Conwy was keen to demonstrate that it considers staff as its most valuable asset, and to ensure Conwy is regarded by staff as a good employer. Description of initiatives All initiatives are now brought together under the Valuing Staff strategy. A key intervention has been back care/rapid access to physiotherapy; this initiative has been thought of as a way of spending money in order to save it. Access to a back care adviser then, later, rapid access to physiotherapy, was developed as a way of tackling the high number of days lost which were attributable to musculo skeletal problems. A pilot was conducted with environmental services and highways services staff. The initiative proved successful, in that it achieved health benefits for staff by: preventing injuries in the first place quickly treating problems and so improving outcomes (often reducing the length of treatment/number of treatment sessions needed) reducing the number of acute injuries which then developed into chronic injuries preventing secondary conditions developing (which can sometime become more problematic than the original injury) assisting some people to stay in work. In addition, the quicker treatment meant cost savings for the organisation, both in terms of reduced sickness absence, and shorter periods when temporary staff had to be brought in or overtime had to be paid. As a result of the success of the initiative, it has now been made available to all staff. Alongside this, there have been a variety of other initiatives, including discounted membership at council health and leisure facilities, well-being checks, lunchtime/after-work physical activity sessions (such as tai chi and Nordic pole walking) and alternative medicine. 12

13 Resources Funding for the initiatives comes from both departments and corporate budgets, for example, the occupational health budget. For the back care/rapid access to physiotherapy, payment was initially made from a corporate budget. Since its success has been proved, funding is now made by the departments as they use the service. Challenges Funding was a key challenge. For the back care pilot, there was an exercise in persuading decision makers that it was worth investing the money to deal with musculo skeletal problems through the workplace. The Head of Corporate Personnel Services made a business case for funding, based on research which demonstrated the likely benefits. And once the pilot had proved successful, continued funding could be garnered from the departments as they used the service. Factors for success The suggestion for a back care advisor was discussed with councillors, senior managers and unions at an early stage, when the proposal was still at an idea stage. This allowed them to be involved at the start and influence how it was introduced. And continued support was maintained by evaluating the pilot, and feeding back the results. Monitoring closely the effect of the back care advice/rapid access to physiotherapy allowed the council to identify where two managers in the same section were referring their staff at different speeds. One was referring very quickly, and the other less so; and the faster referrals had better outcomes. This allowed them to advise the manager with slower referrals (and all managers) to improve outcomes in future. Outcomes Overall there has been a reduction in sickness absence by more than two FTE days per employee per year, from 12.7 days in 2006/07 to in 2008/09. This reduction has led to the council having a sickness absence figure within the best third of authorities in Wales, rather than being in the worst third, as in 2006/07. In relation to sickness absence caused by musculo skeletal problems specifically, it reduced from 1,034 days in 2008 to 1,006 in The council has held the silver Corporate Health Standard in the past, before the standard was updated. Now the council is working towards the gold level of the new standard. 13

14 Future plans There are many initiatives that are planned for the future; these are all designed to make the council an employer of choice with high calibre staff. In addition to health initiatives, such as a cycle to work scheme, and plans to develop the specification of a new occupational health service, there is a programme of work on Modernising Employment, which involves a review of Conwy s entire contract and terms and conditions of service, including having a greater focus on training, and the development of job families which enable staff to see career pathways through the organisation. Further work will also be conducted with the community and NHS partners, in particular focussing on initiatives for mental health well-being. Contact Ruth Hind Principal HR Business Partner Corporate Personnel Services ruth.hind@conwy.gov.uk 14

15 Cumbria County Council Well-being for Life Campaign Key words: improving workforce well-being driver, stress management, physical activity, healthchecks, healthy lifestyle, dispersed workforce Background Cumbria County Council is in the north west of England and covers a wide geographical area. The council initiated a health and well-being campaign in May 2008 called Well-being for Life. Sickness absence monitoring showed that the two highest absence reasons were consistently from stress related and musculoskeletal disorders. The well-being programme was introduced to re-promote existing employee well-being support initiatives already in place in the council. As these initiatives were often undersubscribed, it would be an opportunity to provide a more holistic programme of initiatives that covered all elements of health and well-being. Additionally, as one of the authority s strategic priorities within the corporate plan was for a healthier workforce, introducing the programme would fit this and make a commitment to supporting staff health. Finally, the programme also has links to the wider health strategy for Cumbria as a whole. Description of initiatives Initiatives are varied, and include the See it, Do it campaign, which aims to promote the arts and art events in the Cumbria area. Cumbria County Council has linked with it as a way to combat stress through arts-based activities; an arts engagement officer is involved in promoting this work. Other work includes: reviewing the stress management standards, and developing an action plan, which has been supported by conducting focus group work after feedback from staff about stress well-being days, offering mini healthchecks and general health and wellbeing advice fitness tests alternative therapy sessions, such as head and shoulder massage Wii Fit challenge home and personal safety information, and home fire safety information promotions a pedometer challenge and guided health walks a cycle to work scheme employee assistance programme, also open to families of staff advice on credit unions, fuel poverty, and debt management smoking cessation support. 15

16 Resources The employee well-being campaign started with an allocation of 30,000 over a three year period from 2008/09 from the health and safety budget. A Well-being Champions Group runs the programme, and is made up of officers from human resources, the communications team, and corporate health and safety, as well as the arts engagement officer and the sports economy champion. The members of the well-being champions group are all employed in other roles within Cumbria County Council, so there is no dedicated or specifically funded well-being team. Although there is no dedicated resource and a limited budget, which equates to around 1 per member of staff, the campaign team has been creative and drawn from a range of sources. For example, they brought in the fire and rescue service to run fitness checks and promote home fire safety information; worked with Cumbria NHS Trust for smoking cessation and healthy eating initiatives; and good relations with their occupational health service resulted in them providing mini healthchecks. Challenges Offices in Cumbria are dispersed over a large geographical area; many staff work in outlying premises, so do not have access to a central base. To deal with this, each year the county council focuses on targeting a new group of workers who are not centrally based. First it was staff in care homes; and last year it was those based in outlying premises (such as catering staff and school crossing patrol staff). They are looking to continue this with other departments in the future. In addition, because such staff do not have access to or intranet, the council ensures that posters and flyers are given to them. They use existing area co-ordinators, who supervise services like cleaning, catering and crossing patrols across the county, to pass these on to staff. Alongside this, roadshows have been held in the four main areas of Cumbria (Barrow, Kendal, Carlisle and Workington). Factors for success Well-being for Life is a branded campaign: it features jelly bean characters called the Wellbeings. The branding has been so distinctive and effective that a district council has adopted the branding and is running its own health and wellbeing strategy under the banner. Staff involved in the programme have found innovative ways of engaging employees. Staff have the opportunity to feedback about their views on the council as an employer, through the Wheel of Well-being ; staff are able to fill in a card reporting what is good and bad about their employer, and leave it on 16

17 the wheel of well-being. Other effective engagement has included competitions that provide prizes that are well-being related. Outcomes Meanwhile, feedback on the uptake of initiatives is provided to lead officers every six months, which includes statistics on the number of people taking part in initiatives. One of the most successful was the Summer Loving your Wellbeing challenge, with 550 staff members undertaking the four week initiative, which was also outside of work time. Comments from staff who have attended different sessions have been positive. And one in five people who received a mini healthcheck has been referred to their GP for further checks. Future plans Cumbria County Council is aiming to continue its health and well-being programme beyond 2010/11 (when funding for the programme is reviewed). Key changes planned include: reviewing the occupational health service; reviewing stress management training; and increasing the amount of partnership working conducted with district authorities. Contact Sharon McCubbin Corporate Health, Safety and Well-being Adviser sharon.mccubbin@cumbriacc.gov.uk 17

18 London Borough of Enfield Improving Health and Well-being Key words: improving customer service driver, stress management, physical activity, health checks, family and friends, staff support group Background Enfield is an outer London borough. Enfield s staff sickness absence, according to the latest statistics available, is lower than the average for London boroughs. The main driver for well-being initiatives has been to improve service provision to the public, through developing staff health awareness and their ability and motivation to provide quality services. Responsibility for health and well-being is held by a director within the council and the chief executive leads on health and safety issues. Description of initiatives The council has an authority-wide strategy to improve the health and well-being of the workforce. The following initiatives were developed for staff: stress awareness training, employee s stress awareness guidance, and a manager s stress management guide - there are also stress awareness risk assessments which follow the Health and Safety Executive s guidance in this area. The stress guidance and training (plus appraisal guidance) not only help staff to recognise and tackle stress, but also has a particular emphasis on considering stress when objective setting in appraisals a 24/7 employee assistance programme, which employees can contact by freephone and - this service provides counselling and advice on a wide variety of issues including those outside of work. Employees families are also able to access this programme annual health fairs, where staff are able to have their blood sugar level, BMI and their weight and cholesterol checked. Pedometers are also given out to staff sports development activities, for example yoga, pilates, football and walking programmes an action group for staff with disabilities, which meets quarterly to discuss and consider ways to resolve difficulties that staff might have as a result of disabilities. The group also runs bi-annual staff disability awareness events a health and well-being site on the staff intranet which contains information about all of the activities, schemes, advise and guidance that the council provides, such as the healthy living programme (the sports and development team programme of fitness activities, which is produced three times a year). This site also has details of other health-related information sources, on topics such as healthy eating and alcohol limits awareness a cycle to work scheme, through which staff can get tax-free bicycles 18

19 a new year programme to encourage staff to meet their new year s resolutions, such as stopping smoking or exercising more often an on-site programme to help employees quit smoking a childcare scheme, through which staff can reduce the amount they spend on childcare linking with environmental issues, staff are encouraged to walk rather than take the car. At Christmas there was a count the mince pies walking programme where staff could calculate how many mince pies they had earned by walking. There have also been team and individual prizes for distances walked an online risk assessment toolkit that managers can work through with their staff a cancer information awareness guide has been published, including recognising possible symptoms, prevention methods such as screening, help to quit smoking and healthy living diet and exercise advise, and sources of advice and support. The council are also looking at providing further health programmes and activities for borough residents, for example, Tottenham Hotspur have a sports programme for their residents. Resources The initiatives related to stress (stress awareness training, stress awareness guidance, a manager s guide to stress and stress awareness risk assessments) were not resourced through any particular funding stream, but just through the human resource of staff involved in their development. However, Enfield feels this staffing cost is likely to be offset by the savings from a reduction in sickness absence. For the health fair, the health and safety budget was used. The primary care trust is supporting the council s healthy living initiatives by providing staff with individually tailored health and well-being support programmes, such as individual diet and exercise advice. Challenges There have been challenges with implementing some initiatives. One example is the cycling to work initiative: any associated risks for example, ensuring the insurance covers the event that an employee has an accident during working hours whilst cycling Enfield Council needed to install additional showers and bike parking facilities. For both health and well-being and environmental reasons, the Corporate Management Team were enthusiastic about the scheme, and approved the necessary funding. 19

20 Factors for success A key factor for success is having the senior management team behind the health and well-being interventions. To gain support for the initiatives from the senior management team, it is essential that the director with responsibility for these issues can demonstrate the positive effect of health and well-being initiatives on business and what the council achieves. There has also been support from the trade unions who have been involved in some of the initiatives. In particular, the trade unions have helped shape policies and guidance and were involved in the selection panel for the childcare scheme. Regular communication with staff is also an element that contributes to the success of the initiatives. The initiatives are promoted regularly through the intranet site and HR Essentials publication and staff are sent a direct link to new activities or guidance, via the weekly Staff Matters publication. There is also promotion of the service through the quarterly staff magazine. Outcomes A formal evaluation has not been conducted. However there had been a reduction in the level of sickness absence. There has been a good take up of the stress awareness training (and excellent feedback from attendees) and staff have taken the opportunity to read what has been put on the intranet. There has also been a good take-up of initiatives such as the child care scheme, cycle scheme and employee assistance programme (free phone advice service) which covers issues not directly related to work, as well as work problems. The council has been rated as a four star authority by the British Safety Council, for its work on health and safety, and was the only council to have achieved this. Future plans There are a number of future initiatives that the London Borough of Enfieild is considering, such as: giving staff access to reasonably priced dental and health insurance making better use of the way the council communicates health and wellbeing advice and services, including posters, leaflets, the intranet site, an advice stall at the Annual Health Fair, and the staff magazine. Contact Sally Kanabar Wilson HR Strategy & Policy Consultant HR Strategy and Policy Team sally.kanabar.wilson@enfield.gov.uk 20

21 Kent County Council Organisational Well-being and People Management Key words: improving customer service driver, tackling musculo skeletal problems, stress management, physical activity, healthchecks, dispersed workforce Background Kent is a county council covering a large geographical area in the South East, employing around 44,000 staff. Sickness absence is comparable to the national trend, with stress, mental health and musculo skeletal causes being the most commonly reported. The introduction of initiatives to promote health and wellbeing amongst the staff arose from the desire to improve performance in the council. The council recognised that to provide a good service to customers it was important not only to have the right people in the right place, but also for staff to be well at work. Description of initiatives A range of health and well-being initiatives have been in existence since 2002 and formalised within the Work and Wellbeing framework in Well-being activity covers five areas of physical, mental, social and economic well-being, health promotion and organisational well-being. There have been many initiatives which have been proved to be successful, including: a team weight loss challenge where teams compete to lose weight. The council provided scales for each team and then this initiative runs virtually. A total of 400 staff have lost 277 stone between them, over 18 months VirtualGym TV, where a range of exercise classes can be accessed from any location with the internet. School halls have been used by teachers as a team activity. Staff log in for free and can watch fitness demonstrations and join in with virtual classes a virtual Walking the World challenge where nearly 300 staff took part just using pedometers. The steps were recorded and staff could track progress through online newsletters and intranet articles the Fit Bug programme that links a pedometer to an online system that records how much water and coffee people drink, what people eat, and physical activity targeted work with individuals who have specific issues such as diabetes or food allergies, or individuals who have struggled with losing weight over a considerable period of time, including exploring the psychological dimensions to losing weight as well as nutrition and exercise Wellbeing Healthcheck programmes, where staff are individually healthchecked every three years, thus highlighting areas of potential intervention. Charts were put in toilets to encourage staff to have a healthcheck and remind them of things to monitor, for example checking their hydration levels 21

22 providing training on the Alexander Technique to help staff with musculoskeletal problems. The current focus on organisational well-being and effective people management covers managing change well, including the positive management of mental health within the workforce. This involved training managers, to demystify the management of mental health. It ties in with the council s aims to reduce sickness absence and retain and recruit disabled people. Under the banner Wellbeing, Well-managed, training is available to improve the competence and resilience of managers and staff to perform well, particularly given the significant change agenda local authorities are dealing with. A key theme of the Work and Wellbeing initiative is to take a holistic view, recognising the link between mental, physical and economic well-being and to make facilities available to the maximum number of staff possible. Partnership work with the police, fire and health services includes the Kent Coaching and Mentoring Network, supporting a coaching culture in public sector services in Kent. Resources There is an organisation and employee well-being and performance manager, who co-ordinates the Work and Wellbeing group of 13 staff, with a directorate manager and personnel, learning and development, occupational health, union, health and safety, and schools representatives. There is a small central budget available for initiatives allocated by the Work and Wellbeing group which generally funds pilot activities. Following evaluation, mainstream budgets continue providing facilities or activities that are successful and cost-effective. For example: the sports development team worked with the well-being team on jointly branded posters of the top ten tips for getting healthy the well-being group were able to link in with the councils ActiveMobs initiative that encourages the public to get active the learning and development programme offers courses that have been designed and successfully piloted as part of the Work and Wellbeing initiative, for example, the positive management of mental health programme and managing difficult conversations well. Where pilots suggest initiatives are not cost-effective they are not continued. However, in the case of the Fitbug, although the initiative was not provided free to staff, the council negotiated with Fitbug to include it in the council s KentRewards package so staff can purchase it at a reduced rate. 22

23 Challenges Key challenges include ensuring resources are targeted for maximum impact and positive outcomes, getting the right balance in addressing the needs of the organisation and individual staff, and identifying initiatives that could be provided for all staff. This was a particular challenge in Kent because of the large geographic area the authority covers, with over 1,000 different work places. This was overcome in a number of ways: offering virtual well-being initiatives that all staff could access regardless of location offering many initiatives under the single Work and Wellbeing brand that staff have grown to recognise and trust targeting some initiatives, for example, for staff who were obese or have specific health issues. Here it was possible to provide tailored weight loss support, health advice and exercise support to those who most need it. Factors for success The success of the well-being initiatives is largely due to cross-council support at all levels. Other factors that have helped make the initiatives a success include: being able to demonstrate the benefit of the initiatives in terms of reduced sickness absence levels support from managers, recognising that well-being work supports their business objectives by improving staff health, well-being and performance champions, who are able to disseminate information within their department or section and act as a key point of contact political support through the personnel committee. Outcomes Whilst it is difficult to identify the benefits of each measure, since many have happened simultaneously, overall there has been a reduction in sickness absence of 41,000 days across the council from 2007/08 to 2008/09. The reduction in stress-related illness alone was 9,000 of those days, and there has been a reduction in longer-term absence. Monitoring across three directorates indicate a saving of over 2 million. Results from the staff survey have shown that staff morale has increased and the high performance of staff has been recognised through inspection regimes. Future plans The council is dealing with significant change, not least in light of the predicted spending cuts. Investing in well-being activity therefore remains a long-term, continuous improvement journey in successfully providing council services. That is why organisational well-being and people management, particularly in managing change well, remains the priority focus throughout This includes: development events for managers and staff to build energy and 23

24 resilience, managing change successfully, developing manager confidence and competence in people management, and remembering to value staff by a simple thank you. Contact Elaine Mason Organisation and Employee Well-being Performance Manager wellbeing@kent.gov.uk 24

25 Norfolk County Council Work-Life Support Strategy Key words: improving community health driver, stress management, physical activity, healthchecks, healthy lifestyle, tackling musculo skeletal problems, dispersed workforce Background Norfolk County Council is situated in the east of England covering a wide geographical area. There were two drivers for Norfolk s strategy. The first is the council objective to improve the health and well-being of Norfolk s residents generally, and recognition that the employee population represents a large part of that. Secondly, there is recognition of the responsibility of the council to improve the health and well-being of the workforce, be an exemplar employer in the area, continue to be an Investor in People, minimise the cost of sickness absence to the organisation, and help staff be efficient and effective when they are at work. Description of initiatives All of Norfolk s initiatives fall under an overarching Work-Life Support Strategy. There are many initiatives that form part of the strategy and these are available to all staff across all departments in the council. Key initiatives include: team-based risk assessments for stress following the Health and Safety Executive management standards guidance the Norfolk Support Line, an employee assistance scheme which provides counselling and advice services - advice is offered either over the telephone or face to face across a wide variety of issues, including financial and relationship difficulties, and group support is also available a more traditional occupational health service that staff can access, running alongside a musculo skeletal rehabilitation scheme which provides fast track access to physiotherapy and chiropractic services health and well-being awareness days for staff, including healthy lifestyle advice and healthchecks work-life balance schemes, which incorporate flexible working, flexi-time and home working and other elements specific policies supporting this area such as a bullying and harassment policy, a management of stress at work policy, and drug and alcohol policies a sports and social club a chaplaincy service. Resources Initially, two years funding was provided to undertake the 2004 team-based risk assessment, provided from the risk and insurance budget. This initiative was found to be a success and employees who were involved with this gave 25

26 feedback which helped the wider work. Now the main funding for all of the initiatives comes from the risk and insurance section of the council, with the health and safety budget contributing a small amount extra. There are only a small number of dedicated officers: the corporate work-life support officer, plus a small number of well-being officers in a few departments. Other than this, the strategy relies on the appointment of facilitators. They all have a basic level of training, that allows them to help with such initiatives such as the team-based risk assessments; plus they are able to speak knowledgably about the health and well-being awareness messages and initiatives. Due to the geographical spread of the council s workforce, they are crucial in providing the first point of contact and ensuring that large numbers of staff were reached with the messages. The facilitators undertake these duties in addition to their normal role as council employees, so there is no additional staff cost. There is a job description for the facilitator role, and a commitment of between 3.5 and 6.5 days over the course of a year. Challenges The biggest challenge faced was acquiring funding for the initial team-based risk assessment pilot. The corporate health and safety manager did this by demonstrating the need for it using sickness absence statistics. By running it as a pilot initiative, risk was mitigated as the funding was for a single initiative. Following the pilot, the corporate health and safety manager was able to use the success of the pilot and estimates of the cost benefit, to gain funding to continue the initiative and widen it to become part of an overall Work Life Support Strategy. The large geographical area which Norfolk County Council covers was another challenge. In order to overcome the geographical challenge, the facilitators provided information and support so the council was able to run initiatives at different sites across the county. Factors for success Organisational support has been very important to the implementation of health and well-being initiatives, and the corporate health and safety manager worked hard to get this for the strategy. Linked to this is the importance of developing a focussed programme that is achievable within the limited resources, but meets the requirements of differing departments with their differing needs and wants. Rather than start with a blank piece of paper, the team tried to align wants and needs, and focus on issues which would make the biggest difference and were affordable. When communicating with staff about the Work Life Support Strategy, it was made clear that they could influence the initiatives that might be included. This helped to empower staff to be involved in the scheme; and helped ensure the initiatives were wide-ranging and appealed to the maximum number of staff. Staff are given the opportunity to choose which, from a range of initiatives, suit 26